Former President Donald Trump wants to remove the federal judge assigned to his lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, and others tied to the so-called “Russiagate” controversy.
Trump’s legal team filed a motion to disqualify U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks, who is based in West Palm Beach, Florida, citing how the judge was nominated by former President Bill Clinton in 1997, when his spouse was the first lady.
The filing stresses that “there exists a reasonable basis that Judge Middlebrooks’ impartiality will be questioned” and notes the lawsuit is levied, in part, against Hillary Clinton, who ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign against Trump in 2016.
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In addition, the motion cites Section 455 of the U.S. Code, which states, “Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
Trump’s filing does not make any mention of Middlebrooks’s decision in 2016 to toss a civil racketeering lawsuit against Clinton which alleged that the former secretary of state used her private email account and changed U.S. foreign policy to seek speaking fees and donations to the Clinton Foundation.
Trump filed his lawsuit late last month, alleging a conspiracy to create a “false narrative” tying his 2016 campaign to Russia.
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The 108-page complaint highlighted a sweeping list of grievances, including the Russia investigation completed by special counsel Robert Mueller, and alleges racketeering, conspiracy to commit “injurious falsehood,” and obstruction of justice, among other alleged crimes. The former president seeks $72 million in damages.
